Bell...AGAIN!

[SanAntonioSteelerFan]

Yeah, I'm still po'd about how Bell cost us HFA last year by being out of football shape for the first few games because he didn't suit up till just before the regular season. Tomlin was right when he said in the preseason last year that that would have consequences.

More to the point, I'm afraid he's going to be true to his word and do this to us again!

I would get a decent RB in the draft, and remind him that we can let him "test the market" very late in the preseason when teams have pretty much set their rosters and wouldn't be as willing to cough up the big bucks.

Does it work that way?

[feltdizz]

i get his point.
Anybody who says they don't love his play is a liar... HERO
looking at this thread.... VILLAIN

true.. but fans don't care.

"he makes millions, shut up and play... "

"stop being selfish and do what WE want"

[feltdizz]

Yeah, I'm still po'd about how Bell cost us HFA last year by being out of football shape for the first few games because he didn't suit up till just before the regular season. Tomlin was right when he said in the preseason last year that that would have consequences.

More to the point, I'm afraid he's going to be true to his word and do this to us again!

I would get a decent RB in the draft, and remind him that we can let him "test the market" very late in the preseason when teams have pretty much set their rosters and wouldn't be as willing to cough up the big bucks.

Does it work that way?

Bell cost us? You sure Ben didn't cost us with the first Jags game?

So weird how one person can cost us HFA yet be so easy to replace.

[SanAntonioSteelerFan]

Bell cost us? You sure Ben didn't cost us with the first Jags game?

So weird how one person can cost us HFA yet be so easy to replace.

Well, Ben tried his best for the team, but messed up.

Bell didn't try his best for the team. It's harder for me to deal with his messing up when that happens.

[Ernie]

Bring on James Conner and a high draft pick at RB.

[feltdizz]

Well, Ben tried his best for the team, but messed up.

Bell didn't try his best for the team. It's harder for me to deal with his messing up when that happens.

wait.. Bell didn't try his best in the games we lost early in the season?

I know Ben is the team vet but dude doesn't even practice on Wed. and looked TERRIBLE to start the season.

Is he really trying his best in practice everyday?

and then Ben throws the worst pass since O'Donnell when down 3 vs the Pats at home? Yet Bell cost us HFA.

Yeah.. Bell's right, LOL.. VILLAIN!!!

I get what you are saying but I find it odd how Bell is to blame for those early losses to the Jags and Chicago.

It's a team game until we lose?

[SanAntonioSteelerFan]

wait.. Bell didn't try his best in the games we lost early in the season?

I know Ben is the team vet but dude doesn't even practice on Wed. and looked TERRIBLE to start the season.

Is he really trying his best in practice everyday?

and then Ben throws the worst pass since O'Donnell when down 3 vs the Pats at home? Yet Bell cost us HFA. ...

Ben makes mistakes, bad ones sometimes.

Yeah that pass was bad, maybe even *worse* than O'Donnell's passes (if it's true the receivers ran the wrong route against Dallas). But it isn't because Ben's not giving it his all. It didn't happen because he he was out of football shape because he sat out for a bigger paycheck. As a matter of fact, unlike Bell (at least so far), Ben has been pretty unselfish in salary demands - unlike Bell, for the good of the team, he hasn't insisted on breaking the bank or pushing to be paid as much as QB X or QB Y. He isn't skipping the pre-season for selfish reasons. He's doing the best he can do, and sometimes we get Bad Ben (most folks would say he's doing pretty well overall though ).

BTW, Ben practices Wednesdays, unlike some other vets around the league who take that day off (it was reported last season when he decided to restart practicing Wednesdays).

If Bell had reported to camp and was in football shape when the season started last year, it's reasonable to say we would have had a better chance of winning more games early in the season. He wasn't though, because he selfishly sat out.

It's his right to do that of course. I'm just a lot more PO'd about somebody performing sub-par for that kind of reason, especially looking back and seeing how HFA would have been ours if we'd just won one more of those early games when Bell was "getting into football shape".

Tomlin was right when he said that would have consequences, uggh.

[feltdizz]

Ben makes mistakes, bad ones sometimes.

Yeah that pass was bad, maybe even *worse* than O'Donnell's passes (if it's true the receivers ran the wrong route against Dallas). But it isn't because Ben's not giving it his all. It didn't happen because he he was out of football shape because he sat out for a bigger paycheck. As a matter of fact, unlike Bell (at least so far), Ben has been pretty unselfish in salary demands - unlike Bell, for the good of the team, he hasn't insisted on breaking the bank or pushing to be paid as much as QB X or QB Y. He isn't skipping the pre-season for selfish reasons. He's doing the best he can do, and sometimes we get Bad Ben (most folks would say he's doing pretty well overall though ).

BTW, Ben practices Wednesdays, unlike some other vets around the league who take that day off (it was reported last season when he decided to restart practicing Wednesdays).

If Bell had reported to camp and was in football shape when the season started last year, it's reasonable to say we would have had a better chance of winning more games early in the season. He wasn't though, because he selfishly sat out.

It's his right to do that of course. I'm just a lot more PO'd about somebody performing sub-par for that kind of reason, especially looking back and seeing how HFA would have been ours if we'd just won one more of those early games when Bell was "getting into football shape".

Tomlin was right when he said that would have consequences, uggh.

Is it really trying when you make a boneheaded decision like that?

and lets be real. Ben has shown A LOT of selfishness over the years. He even acknowledged he was a pretty bad teammate early on.

IMO he and Bell have more in common then we like to believe. Both have made offseasons about themselves. The only difference IMO is Ben's pay rate was already set at a ridiculously high rate.

Last but not least. Ben was reported to be practicing on Wednesdays because he previously WASN'T practicing and it showed in games.

Bell didn't have to show so he didn't. One could say he would have been tearing it up from the start if he did or maybe our offense starts slow because it ALWAYS seems to start slow in the beginning of the season.

How many times has our offense come firing out the gate since Ben has arrived? I think this is just folks trying to find another way to make Bell the scapegoat when we all know 13-3 isn't bad at all. We also should have been 14-2 if not for Dirty Al in NYC.

..and when you are 13-3 and nitpicking at Bell for one of those losses it's pretty obvious how petty fans can be when it comes to the blame game. If 14-2, then it would be (but we shoulda been 15-1 or 16-0!).

I don't buy it at all. We never start out hot. EVER.

[Steel Maniac]

Ben makes mistakes, bad ones sometimes.

Yeah that pass was bad, maybe even *worse* than O'Donnell's passes (if it's true the receivers ran the wrong route against Dallas). But it isn't because Ben's not giving it his all. It didn't happen because he he was out of football shape because he sat out for a bigger paycheck. As a matter of fact, unlike Bell (at least so far), Ben has been pretty unselfish in salary demands - unlike Bell, for the good of the team, he hasn't insisted on breaking the bank or pushing to be paid as much as QB X or QB Y. He isn't skipping the pre-season for selfish reasons. He's doing the best he can do, and sometimes we get Bad Ben (most folks would say he's doing pretty well overall though ).

BTW, Ben practices Wednesdays, unlike some other vets around the league who take that day off (it was reported last season when he decided to restart practicing Wednesdays).

If Bell had reported to camp and was in football shape when the season started last year, it's reasonable to say we would have had a better chance of winning more games early in the season. He wasn't though, because he selfishly sat out.

It's his right to do that of course. I'm just a lot more PO'd about somebody performing sub-par for that kind of reason, especially looking back and seeing how HFA would have been ours if we'd just won one more of those early games when Bell was "getting into football shape".

Tomlin was right when he said that would have consequences, uggh.

You mean the Bears game? One of the games that cost us home field advantage and would have helped us avoid the Jags? That game?

[squidkid]

i wasnt on board with giving bell 17+, but now i see where he is coming from.
he wants to get paid for a #1 rb, a #2 wr and a HERO...................pay the man!

[steelz09]

I could see Bell signing a long term deal at the last minute but I don't see him getting the 17 mil. I don't see the Steelers budging and I don't think they should.

If they can't sign him long term, we will run the wheels off this year. He will sign a long term deal with a ****ty team next year and over the course of a couple seasons, it will be proven that he wasn't worth the money.

[SanAntonioSteelerFan]

Is it really trying when you make a boneheaded decision like that?

and lets be real. Ben has shown A LOT of selfishness over the years. He even acknowledged he was a pretty bad teammate early on.

IMO he and Bell have more in common then we like to believe. Both have made offseasons about themselves. The only difference IMO is Ben's pay rate was already set at a ridiculously high rate.

Last but not least. Ben was reported to be practicing on Wednesdays because he previously WASN'T practicing and it showed in games.

Bell didn't have to show so he didn't. One could say he would have been tearing it up from the start if he did or maybe our offense starts slow because it ALWAYS seems to start slow in the beginning of the season.

How many times has our offense come firing out the gate since Ben has arrived? I think this is just folks trying to find another way to make Bell the scapegoat when we all know 13-3 isn't bad at all. We also should have been 14-2 if not for Dirty Al in NYC.

..and when you are 13-3 and nitpicking at Bell for one of those losses it's pretty obvious how petty fans can be when it comes to the blame game. If 14-2, then it would be (but we shoulda been 15-1 or 16-0!).

I don't buy it at all. We never start out hot. EVER.

Dude, I wrote about Bell, not Ben. I wasn't sure why you brought Ben up, but I tried to answer you. I dunno, maybe I brought Ben up first and don't remember, if so, that wasn't what I wanted to do, sorry.

But this isn't about Ben ... it's about Bell. Do you think Bell's contract discussions are really about Ben?

[SanAntonioSteelerFan]

You mean the Bears game? One of the games that cost us home field advantage and would have helped us avoid the Jags? That game?

I think that might have been one of them ... thanks.

[feltdizz]

Dude, I wrote about Bell, not Ben. I wasn't sure why you brought Ben up, but I tried to answer you. I dunno, maybe I brought Ben up first and don't remember, if so, that wasn't what I wanted to do, sorry.

But this isn't about Ben ... it's about Bell. Do you think Bell's contract discussions are really about Ben?

and I wrote about Ben because he threw 5 INT's in a Jags loss that may have cost us HFA.

He threw an INT at the end of the Pats game that may have cost us HFA.

It's foolish to blame Bell or any one player for our losses an not having HFA.

See how foolish and defensive folks get when another player besides Bell gets blames for HFA? There is a reason for that.

It's a team game.

[SanAntonioSteelerFan]

and I wrote about Ben because he threw 5 INT's in a Jags loss that may have cost us HFA.

He threw an INT at the end of the Pats game that may have cost us HFA.

It's foolish to blame Bell or any one player for our losses an not having HFA.

See how foolish and defensive folks get when another player besides Bell gets blames for HFA? There is a reason for that.

It's a team game.

Hmm, I wouldn't be so hard on yourself for being "foolish and defensive" trying to defend Bell by throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what sticks ("But ... BEN!"). We can carry on talking about Bell, like the title says, no harm/no foul! :-q